Africa 45, number 4:
A: Alemayehu Eshete - Tchero Adari Negn
Alemayehu Eshete aka the Ethiopian James Brown aka Abyssinian Elvis. struts his stuff on this funk bomb; tough breaks and changes, bluesy guitar lines and horns. Punctuated with Eshete’s JB-esque vocals.
Singer, writer and composer Eshete boasts one of the largest discography in Ethiopian music. Originally released on Amha 7” AE 240A in 1970, pressed in Lebanon due to restrictions imposed by the military government at the time, entitled ‘Chiro Adarie Negne’.
AA: Mahmoud Ahmed - Bemen Sebeb Letlash
Taken from the 1978 LP on on his own label Mahmoud Ahmed Records, LR MA 10. Ahmed is a very well known figure in Ethiopian music, who gained wider appeal thanks to Crammed Discs, Buda Music and the Ethiopiques series.
As sampled by Gaslamp Killer on ‘When I'm in Awe’ featuring GonjaSufi. Included on Cut Chemist’s ‘Sound Of The Police’ mixtape from 2010.
